Matt Hague

Matt Hague

Hanshin Tigers – No. 36
First baseman
Born: (1985-08-20) August 20, 1985
Bellevue, Washington
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Professional debut
MLB: April 7, 2012, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
NPB: March 25, 2016, for the Hanshin Tigers
MLB statistics
(through 2015 season)
Batting average .226
Hits 19
Home runs 0
Runs batted in 7
NPB statistics
(through June 5, 2016)
Batting average .231
Hits 24
Home runs 2
Runs batted in 11
Teams

Matthew Donald Hague (born August 20, 1985) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays. Prior to beginning his professional career, he played college baseball at the University of Washington and Oklahoma State.

Amateur career

Hague was raised in Kent, Washington and attended Kentwood High School in Covington, Washington.[1] For his contributions to the high school baseball team, which finished second in the state of Washington, he was named to the Class 4A All-State First Team as a pitcher and Second Team as an outfielder.[2][3] Hague began his college baseball career at the University of Washington in 2005, where he played for the Washington Huskies baseball team for three seasons. He began his tenure with the Huskies as a backup third baseman and outfielder,[3] but he also pitched in relief. The Cleveland Indians drafted Hague in the 11th round (347th overall) of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft, but he opted not to sign. He transferred to Oklahoma State for his senior season, where he played for the Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball team.[4]

Professional career

Pittsburgh Pirates

Hague was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the ninth round (264th overall) of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft as a third baseman. He began his professional career that season with the State College Spikes of the Class-A Short Season New York–Penn League,[5] before he was promoted to the Hickory Crawdads of the Class-A South Atlantic League. In 2009, Hague played for the Lynchburg Hillcats of the Class-A Advanced Carolina League, where he began playing first base. That year, he finished third in the Carolina League with a .293 batting average.[6]

Hague was promoted to the Altoona Curve of the Double-A Eastern League in 2010, where he was named the team's Iron Man.[7] Hague batted .309 with 12 home runs and 75 runs batted in (RBIs) during the 2011 season with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, leading the International League in hits and receiving midseason and postseason International League All-Star honors.[8] However, he did not receive a September call-up to Pittsburgh as the team already had a number of first basemen and outfielders.[9] He was added to the Pirates' 40 man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft after the 2011 season.[8]

Hague at the 2015 Triple-A All-Star Game

After impressing the Pirates with his power in 2012 spring training,[10] Hague made the Pirates' Opening Day roster. He made his MLB debut on April 7.[11] He recorded his first MLB hit on April 8, a pinch hit RBI single off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick.[12]

Toronto Blue Jays

On August 18, 2014, Hague was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays and assigned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.[13] He was designated for assignment on September 2.[14] He was added back to the 40-man roster on September 28. On August 17, 2015, Hague was called up by the Blue Jays.[15] He debuted for Toronto on August 22, coming on as a pinch hitter against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and striking out. Following the game, Hague was optioned back to Triple-A Buffalo.[16]

On September 1, 2015, the International League named Hague the 2015 Most Valuable Player, after he batted .347 with 11 homers and 88 RBI for the Bisons.[17]

Hague was recalled to the Blue Jays on September 8 at the conclusion of the Minor League season to provide an extra bat off the bench during the Blue Jays' pennant race. He would appear in 10 games with the Blue Jays in 2015, batting .250 with 1 double.[18]

Hanshin Tigers

Following the 2015 season, the Blue Jays reached an agreement to sell Hague's contract to the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball for $300,000.[19] He signed with them on November 30.[20]

Personal life

Hague and Erica (née Wise) were married in New Orleans in November 2015.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "1 Matt Hague". http://www.gohuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=208217854. University of Washington. Retrieved 1 August 2015. External link in |website= (help)
  2. ↑ "The Seattle Times: Sports: All-state baseball teams". The Seattle Times. July 10, 2004. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Diamond Dawgs Open Homestand Vs. St. Martin's: Huskies will play seven home games in nine days". Cstv.com. March 1, 2005. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Oklahoma State opens season with 6-1 win over Gonzaga". Newsok.com. February 22, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  5. ↑ "Spikes Have Crowd at Third Base". Centre Daily Times. June 17, 2008. p. 3. Retrieved February 4, 2012. (subscription required)
  6. ↑ "Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes – OurSports Central – Independent and Minor League Sports News". OurSports Central. September 9, 2009. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  7. ↑ Adamski, Chris (September 6, 2010). "Resop making big impression". MLB.com. Major League Baseball Advanced Media. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Six minor leaguers join Pirates 40-man roster". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 19, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Huntington: 'Hernandez, Hague won't receive callups'". MLB.com. September 5, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Rookie Matt Hague making impact for power-needy Pirates". USA Today. April 1, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Hague makes MLB debut with Pirates | pirates.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Hague comes through as Pirates take 2 of 3 from Phillies". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Blue Jays claim Matt Hague off waivers from Pirates". Canadian Press. August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Blue Jays reinstate Morrow, select Norris; Lawrie on 60-day DL". TSN.ca. September 2, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  15. ↑ Davidi, Shi (August 17, 2015). "Blue Jays send Hutchison to triple‒A in roster shakeup". Sportsnet. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Blue Jays recall Josh Thole, option Matt Hague to triple-A". Sportsnet. August 23, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  17. ↑ Moritz, Amy (September 1, 2015). "Matt Hague: IL MVP by the numbers". insidepitch.buffalonews.com. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Matt Hague Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  19. ↑ Nicholson-Smith, Ben (November 25, 2015). "Blue Jays agree to send Matt Hague to Hanshin Tigers". Sportsnet. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Matthew Hague on Twitter". Twitter. November 30, 2015. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
  21. ↑ Sullivan, Jerry (July 22, 2015). "Bisons' Hague lets stats do his talking". The Buffalo News. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
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